Towards a model of IT training for inservice teachers

It has been widely recognized in the research literature that effective teacher education programs should include not just training on the use of technology but must be integrated with pedagogical uses of technology to bring about learning for the development of life-long learning skills and other emerging goals of education to meet the demands of the information age. Much of the preservice teacher education research in this area advocates infusion models of teacher education where technology courses is not just learnt as standalone course but integrated into the rest of the teacher education program. However, such infusion models might not be viable, especially in the case of inservice courses where the course that the "client" "purchases" is intended to be a skills based one. This paper reports on the experience in the development and delivery of an intensive 120 hr in-service teacher training course commission by the HKSAR government for primary teachers. It was found that a strong didactic receptive conception of learning found amongst the participants was a major obstacle even in the teaching of the information technology skills. The paper reports on a revised curriculum strategy that structures the technical and pedagogical course contents with a strong effort to promote conceptual change.